None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
MyTime is a national program of facilitated peer support groups for parents and carers of children (aged up to 16 years) with a disability, developmental delay or chronic medical condition. The program was established in 2007 by the Parenting Research Centre (PRC) and is funded by the Australian Department of Social Services (DSS). The PRC are planning to conduct an evaluation from July 2015 until 2020 to understand how well the program is meeting the needs of participants and to further develop and support the implementation of MyTime in collaboration with partner agencies, with the aim of improving the program for parents and carers. Specifically, the evaluation aims to determine: 1. Whether MyTime is being implemented as intended; and 2. The effect of MyTime on the intended proximal outcomes of the program. Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) is a systematic approach to continuously collecting and reviewing data or information about the implementation of an intervention in order to identify opportunities to improve this implementation, with the end result of delivering better services to clients. This process enables implementers to collect, interpret and use data in a continuous process to ensure that the core elements of the intervention are being adhered to and delivered as intended (fidelity), monitor outcomes for families receiving the intervention and evaluate the true effectiveness of the intervention by accounting for implementation variability. To test the acceptability of the outcomes and dynamic fidelity measures and to test data collection systems, an initial pilot study will be conducted consisting of up to 30 participants (MyTime members and facilitators) drawn from 2-3 representative MyTime groups. As part of the ongoing CQI evaluation, data collected through routine practice and via a brief survey/telephone interview with MyTime coordinators will be utilised to assess agency adherence to basic program elements (structural fidelity). The quality and content of the relationship between interventionists (MyTime facilitators) and members (parents and carers) (dynamic fidelity) will be measured using a brief questionnaire that is administered to all current MyTime members and facilitators. Both fidelity measures will be completed on a six-monthly basis. Finally, new MyTime members will be invited to participate in an outcomes evaluation which involves the completion of a brief questionnaire within one month of commencing MyTime and a follow-up questionnaire six months later. The questionnaires include information on family demographics, parent knowledge of supports and level of perceived support, parenting confidence, parent well-being and respite needs. The second questionnaire will repeat all but the demographics questions. Both existing and new MyTime members and facilitators will be provided with a plain language information sheet and consent form inviting them to participate in the dynamic fidelity and outcomes evaluation.
Interventions
MyTime is a national program of facilitated peer support groups for parents and carers of children with a disability, developmental delay or chronic medical condition. Parents or caregivers with a child up to age 16 may attend a MyTime group if they are eligible to apply for the Carer Allowance. Each MyTime group consists of 4-12 parents, a facilitator to manage group processes, and at least one play helper who keeps children up to school age engaged in appropriate activities to support parent p
MyTime is a national program of facilitated peer support groups for parents and carers of children with a disability, developmental delay or chronic medical condition. Parents or caregivers with a child up to age 16 may attend a MyTime group if they are eligible to apply for the Carer Allowance. Each MyTime group consists of 4-12 parents, a facilitator to manage group processes, and at least one play helper who keeps children up to school age engaged in appropriate activities to support parent participation in the groups. MyTime was established in 2007 and is funded by the Australian Department of Social Services (DSS) under the ‘Families and Children’ program. The Parenting Research Centre (PRC) manages the MyTime program across Australia, delivering implementation support to a network of 14 partner agencies at a regional level. Those agencies coordinate local providers to deliver the MyTime groups (currently 213 groups nationally). Approximately 3000 parents and carers attend at least one MyTime group each year. The content and delivery of individual MyTime group sessions are determined at a local level and guided by parent/carer need though typically structured around one or more of the following types of activities: 1. Topic based discussion (facilitated and based on resources provided) 2. Guest speakers including services information sessions 3. Pampering & bonding activities or excursions 4. Appropriate play activities for children and siblings. Topics frequently covered in groups include parent and carer self-care, available services or supports, parenting issues e.g., managing behaviour, eating, child development, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), schools/education. Evidence-based information on each of these topics is provided to facilitators to support these discussions by the Parenting Research Centre. Information regarding specific content areas and activities conducted in each session is currently collected by the Parenting Research Centre, with the proposed evaluation aiming to gather more detailed information about the fidelity of delivery to the program model across individual groups. MyTime groups are typically delivered on a fortnightly basis for a period of at least two hours. Some groups offer weekly sessions. Parents participate in as many or as few sessions as they wish. Information regarding the frequency and duration of MyTime sessions for individual participants will be collected and included in analyses of outcomes. For the purposes of the current evaluation, the intervention period will be six months. Six months was identified as being a reasonable timeframe for collecting follow-up or ‘post-test’ data as most parents would have participated in a minimum of 12 sessions during this period which was considered adequate program ‘dosage’ for parents to experience intended proximal outcomes (i.e., increased social support, increased knowledge of services and supports, increased parent knowledge and skills, reduced stress etc.). Program facilitators have relevant qualifications in psychology, social work or welfare and receive training and ongoing professional development to facilitate the program. All facilitators receive support through a local MyTime co-ordinator and have access to evidence-based resources for facilitators provided by the Parenting Research Centre. The MyTime practice model is based on research which suggests that peer support programs can provide a range of benefits to parents of children with a disability or chronic medical condition. These include increased parental sense of agency and control, increased social support, reduced stigma and reduced stress, depression and anxiety (e.g., Armstrong, Birnie-Lefcovitch, & Ungar, 2005; Bottrell, 2009; Campbell, Phaneuf & Deane, 2004; Shilling et al., 2013). These benefits align strongly with the needs expressed by parents and carers of children with a disability including accessing additional information, advice and links to appropriate resources and support, having an outlet to express thoughts and feelings without judgement, accessing increased social support and gaining a sense of control (e.g., Attride-Stirling et al., 2000; Hogan, 2002). On the basis of this research, the main objectives of MyTime are to: 1. Increase parents’ and carers’ social support 2. Increase parental knowledge of caring for a child with special needs 3. Reduce parental stress.
Sponsors
Parenting Research Centre
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Primary purpose
Treatment
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
The evaluation will collect data from new all new MyTime members who enrol in the program from 2017, who are aged 18 years and over and who have caring responsibilities for a child with a disability or medical condition. Participants may include parents, carers or grandparents.
Exclusion criteria
Existing MyTime members, and new members under 18 years of age will be excluded from the current trial.
Outcome results
None listed